Setting sights on a home start line

WHEN Geelong’s inaugural marathon was announced last year, Baden Selman signed up immediately, even though he was still wearing a moon boot.

The Leopold-based carpenter, father of two and lifelong sports lover had just broken his leg playing football when registrations opened for the Geelong Running Festival marathon.

 

Still sidelined and only weeks into recovery, Selman locked it in as a personal target.

“My goal was to get back to being able to run that,” he said.

“It’s a hometown marathon and it’s the first one.”

Only cleared to start running again in December, Selman is still restricted to a light training program as he continues his build up to the September event.

Running has long been part of Selman’s sporting background, but it wasn’t until 2020, when COVID shut down local football competitions, that he began focusing seriously on longer distances.

He went on to complete the Melbourne Marathon, the 60km Great Ocean Road Ultra and several half marathons and fun runs, including multiple appearances at the annual Run Geelong event.

 

“I’ve never really been one to sit still,” Selman said. “For me, [running] is a way of just keeping my head on straight.”

And he thrives on the challenge.

“I’m always looking to tick the next box; the goal posts always move a little bit once you kick the goal, so it’s onto the next thing,” he said.

Selman has this year been named an ambassador for the Geelong Running Festival.

Created by former Olympian Lee Troop, the festival will be held on September 20, and offer participants a first-of-its-kind run or walk through the streets of Geelong.

It’s an opportunity he says will allow him to share his experiences, and the lessons that have come with them, with others.

“I can share my journey and show other people that you can push on to things, even though you’ve had a setback,” he said.

 

“Hopefully I can inspire somebody else to want to do the same thing, whether it’s in running, whether it’s in the sports they’re playing, or at work, or at their family life, or just trying to get themselves happier and healthier.”

The example he sets a home, for his young children, matters just as much.

“Doing it myself, with my kids, it’s a good way for me to be able to show them how you can be involved in the community and how you can grow things,” Selman said.

Running has also become a way to connect locally. Informal training sessions with his neighbours have developed into the Leopold Coffee Run, a Sunday morning meet-up that now attracts up to 30 runners most weeks.

“It’s amazing to see the community come together,” Selman said. “Everyone just cheers each other on; everyone’s there to help each other.”

That same sense of shared effort is what Selman hopes people will find through the Geelong Running Festival.

“It isn’t very often you get to do the first one – that’s a bit of motivation right there,” he said.

“If you’re thinking about it, or you’re on the fence, it’s definitely worth the shot. It’ll be a lot of fun.”